If recent reports are to be believed then the La Liga side is willing to sign the Manchester United veteran in the upcoming summer transfer window.
Following the departure of Jose Mourinho, the Old Trafford hierarchy made an unprecedented appointment, hiring Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in an interim capacity. The Champions League knockout stage triumph against Paris Saint-Germain, however, helped the Norwegian manager transform his position from temporary to permanent manager.
And since then, there has been a clear indication of what he is trying to achieve at United. The bars for the players have been raised, the recruitment procedure has changed considerably and the club is now far away from the chaos they were in during the last few months of Mourinho’s time at the Theatre of Dreams.
Now the manager needs to transform this progress into something tangible. In other words, he needs to win some trophies.
Could Juan Mata leave Manchester United for Valencia?
With Manchester United keeping themselves in a strong position in the Premier League title, that day might not be far away though. And Solskjaer might just have the right combination of experience and youth at his disposal to see this campaign through. The maturity of Juan Mata, Nemanja Matic, David de Gea, Edinson Cavani and some others will help the youngsters keep their focus.
But if recent reports are to be believed, one of them could be on the move soon. According to Spanish outlet La Razon, La Liga side Valencia are considering signing Juan Mata for free next summer.
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Having played for Real Oviedo, Real Madrid and Valencia, Mata joined Chelsea in 2011 for £24 million. With Chelsea, Mata won a Champions League, playing 135 matches for the Blues before moving to Old Trafford in 2014. United reportedly paid £37.1 million for the Spaniard.
There has always been the feeling that he has not been properly used by the Red Devils though. Once a back-to-back Chelsea Player of the Year, he has spent most of his time at Old Trafford as a periphery figure. While he has had his moments, they are a far cry from his 2012/13 season when he had 54 goal contributions for the Blues!
Mata’s contract is set to expire in June 2021. Although United have an option to extend that by a further year, it has not been done yet and the Spaniard might want a move in order to show the footballing world that what he can still do.
Valencia would surely love to bring him back for free next summer. But they are in the middle of a terrible run of form at the moment and just one point off the relegation zone. Thus, things could change by the end of the season depending on if they manage to stay in Spain’s top division.